Just three weeks after an explosion led to the deaths of 12 coal miners, two more men died in an underground mine fire.

Both West Virginia tragedies have prompted a national outcry for better enforcement of federal mine safety regulations. But it's hard to enforce rules when they don't exist, or when they did but were deep-sixed. It's fair for workers to be questioning whose interests federal regulators serve.

The Sago Mine disaster, in which the men succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning, has miners clamoring for mandatory underground oxygen caches. The idea first came up six years ago, then was scrapped by the Bush administration.

The Aracoma Mine accident, in which a conveyer belt caught fire, has legislators wondering why a Clinton-era rule requiring fire-resistant belts was erased by Bush. In all, this administration has junked 18 proposals for the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

But look who's running the show. Until 2004, it was Dave Lauriski, a former mine executive who's been accused of covering up a toxic coal slurry spill by Massey Energy, owner of the Aracoma Mine.

His nominated replacement, Richard Stickler, is a longtime coal man whose Pennsylvania mine safety record has come under fire.

Many presidents, including Bush's predecessor, have made dubious appointments. But this leader's nominees stand out either for their inexperience - a la FEMA's Michael Brown - or their cozy ties to the industries they govern. Recall that now-indicted former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay once was eyed for Energy Department secretary. ...

Worker protections and corporate interests don't have to be mutually exclusive.

The Senate must vet Bush's new mining administrator to ensure his interests aren't tilted too heavily toward either. In the meantime, it would be wise to revisit those 18 junked mine proposals so that the safety of West Virginia - and Illinois - miners isn't compromised further.